The last couple of days I've been working on some swing changes and started seeing some large distance gains that were not really expected or easy to understand. After patting myself on the back I started to wonder a bit, and with some investigation I think I've found the explanation: the ball.
For a good 8-iron, my swing speed is around 87mph and dynamic loft in the range of 32 degrees (would love it to be lower). I get a smash factor of around 1.3, which translates into ball speed around 110mph. With a ProV1 that means spin around 7500 and carry distance of about 150 yards. With a Callaway ERC Soft I'm seeing spin more like 3500 and carry 165. Today I had one carry 172, which is about what I would normally expect from a 6-iron. Just unheard-of distance for me, and for awhile I'm thinking I've turned into Godzilla, until I realized that it was the ball making the difference. I didn't make a real scientific measurement but there is no doubt the Callaway reads as flying significantly farther than the ProV1 at the same ball speed. Like, 10-12 yards farther at least with the 8. (I did not compare launch angles with the 8, but there is no doubt that off a wedge the Callaway launches much higher than the ProV1 -- not sure if this could account for something.)
Question: is this reasonable? Am I really flying the low-spin ball that much farther or is this a GCQ bias to low-spin shots? It's not freakishly low spin that should read as any kind of error. I normally play a ProV1 but if the low-spin ball is giving me that much more distance I would have to think about changing. Yet I never heard about the ProV1 being a ball that comprimises distance. Which is why I'm thinking it's the Quad, not reality. Thoughts?
For a good 8-iron, my swing speed is around 87mph and dynamic loft in the range of 32 degrees (would love it to be lower). I get a smash factor of around 1.3, which translates into ball speed around 110mph. With a ProV1 that means spin around 7500 and carry distance of about 150 yards. With a Callaway ERC Soft I'm seeing spin more like 3500 and carry 165. Today I had one carry 172, which is about what I would normally expect from a 6-iron. Just unheard-of distance for me, and for awhile I'm thinking I've turned into Godzilla, until I realized that it was the ball making the difference. I didn't make a real scientific measurement but there is no doubt the Callaway reads as flying significantly farther than the ProV1 at the same ball speed. Like, 10-12 yards farther at least with the 8. (I did not compare launch angles with the 8, but there is no doubt that off a wedge the Callaway launches much higher than the ProV1 -- not sure if this could account for something.)
Question: is this reasonable? Am I really flying the low-spin ball that much farther or is this a GCQ bias to low-spin shots? It's not freakishly low spin that should read as any kind of error. I normally play a ProV1 but if the low-spin ball is giving me that much more distance I would have to think about changing. Yet I never heard about the ProV1 being a ball that comprimises distance. Which is why I'm thinking it's the Quad, not reality. Thoughts?
Comment